Dishwashing machine



A. VQRHS DISH WASHING MACHINE 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 22,

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Patented Dec. l1, 1945 UNi'D STATES @Ahl OFFECE DISHWASHHNG MACmE Mabel A. Voris, Seattle, Wash.

Application October 22, 1938, Serial No. 236,516 y l1 Claims.

flour, etc., and to discharge such debris down the drain so that wash Water will be clean and not polluted thereby, then to wash the dishes in clean hot Water, to which a detergent has been added, for a set time, then to rinse dishes in plain hot water to remove suds, then to give them a second rinse to sterilize with temperature of Water desired, and then to subject the dishes to drying consisting of condensing and removing vapor from their surface so that they will not dry streaked, then subjecting them to fresh air and a continued circulation of said air by continued rotary action of an impeller, around and over the dishes until they are dry before the motor is stopped.

An important object is to provide a novel apparatus for drying dishes by a combination of condensing the vapor left around them by the final hot rinse water, so that it can not settle on the dishes causing them to dry streaked, nor can it escape into the room to settle on the walls, etc., when the lid is opened, and then introducing fresh air by automatically opening the lid after a portion of the vapor has been condensed, then utilizing the continued rotary action of the washing pump impeller to drive out the remainder of n the moisture remaining in the tank, and to circulate the fresh air over the dishes for a set time until they are dry, before the motor is stopped, and to supply means by which such drying can be automatically performed.

'One object is to provide .dish drying means in the nature of a condenser positioned to condense the vapor left in the tank after the washing and rinsing operation so that the vapor will not be permitted to remain in the tank and condense on the dishes but will be condensed by the condenser and flow down the drain as water, thereby facilitating and assisting the drying of the dishes and preventing the vapor from escaping into the room when the lid of the tank in which the dishes are washed and rinsed is raised.

Another object of the invention is to provide means to automatically raise the lid of the tank after the vapor has been condensed, for the purpose of admitting fresh air to be forcefully circulated in and around the dishes by continued rotary action of the pump impeller element with no water in the tank, thus helping the dishes to dry by their own heat retained after the scalding.

One important object is to provide means whereby a dishwashing machine can be made to carry out this work required to subject the dishes to this cleansing automatically, with the machine running continuously, and without change of construction or action of the machine or any of its parts, through the furnishing, in the required sequence of manner and time, fresh supplies of water and air as needed.

The invention contemplates the construction of a dishwashing machine that will automatically subject the dishes to a scientic cleansing method as described herein, and a control device, either mechanically or electrically driven to actuate various elements in required sequence of manner and time, to accomplish this result.

In this version of my machine to accomplish this control the valves on the inlet and outlet pipes for filling and draining the machine are grouped around a central rotary control mechanism driven by aniotor by means of suitable shafting in which is interposed a speed reduction gear capable of reducing the speed from that of the motor to that required for performing the cycle of work.

This rotary control mechanism affords an individual path for each valve to be controlled. Tappets are placed at predetermined locations in these paths to actuate the respective valves by direct contact with the respective handles of said valves, without the use of any intervening` mechanism.

Other and more yspecific objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying A drawings:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of my improved dish-washing machine;

Fig. '2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1, looking downward in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a preferred form of rotary controller;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the timing of this controller; and

Fig. 6 is an edge View of another form of rotor controller.

Referring to the drawings, 8 designates the tank of a dishwashing machine, 9 designates a motor for furnishing power to operate the dishwashing machine, and I0 designates an impeller of the shaft l5 is transmitted to a shaft 52, and

a rotary timing control I1 is secured on this shaft 52 and will be hereinafter described in connection with the valve mechanism.

Valve I4 is a drain valve controlling the outlet of water from the tank 8. 'Ihe valve I8 is a hot water Valve which controls the admission of hot Water from a source of supply, usually from a hot water tank (not shown) to the tank 8. 'I'he valve 24 is a cold Water control valve which governs the admission of cold water to the tank 8. The valves I4, I8 and 24, and the lid opening mechanism and stopping of the motor, are all automatically controlled at timed intervals by means of the rotary timing control I1. The valve I8 which controls the hot water is connectedby a pipe I9 with the upper end of a soap receptacle 2| which is positioned inside of the tank 8, sothat all hot water entering the tank 8 will be caused to flow through the soap receptacle. The cold water valve 24 is connected by a pipe 25 with the interior of a condenser jacket 23 which extends approximately around the upper portion of the tank 8 and provides a cooling jacket through which the cold water passes before entering the tank 8 .through an inlet opening 26 communicating between the space within the condenser jacket and the interior of the tank 8.

A baiile wall 28 may be provided in the condenser jacket 23 so that the water entering through the pipe 25 will be caused to iiow around the tank 8 and then upwardly past the end 60a of said baille wall and then back to the opening 26 at the upper end of the jacket, through which the water from the jacket empties into the tank 8.

Obviously, any form of condenser jacket may be used so long as the cold water is allowed to enter the jacket and cool the same and the in'- terior of the tank 8 is subjected to the cooling eiect of the condenser. In the present illustration, the wall between the condenser and the tank 8 is the Wall 'of the tank, so that the cooling action of the condenser will be transmitted to the tank. 'I'he valves I8 and 24 are preferably of a self-closing type adapted to close auto'- matically after being open long enough to admit a predetermined amount of water. The drain valve I4 will also close automatically.

Operation of the motor 9 is controlled by suitable switch mechanism within a housing 21. A switch lever 48 is provided for operating this The weight of this rod 4I and arm 42 is suliicient to cause it to drop by gravity after it has been raised by the cam 44.` With the upward movement oli the rod 4|, the switch lever 48 is raised by the nger 41 on rod 4| toistop the motor, and the catch mechanism 3|32 is released at the same time, thus permitting the lid 33 to open at the end -of the cycle of operation.

As an additional means for opening the lid, a counterweight 35 is provided. .This is attached to the lower end of a rod 35', and the -upper end of this rod is connected with a lever 36 pivoted on the bracket 31, and a finger 31' extends from the opposite end of this lever 36 to a point 38 where it is pivoted to the lid as shown-in Fig. 3. This mechanism may be used with, or in lieu of, the spring hinge 34.

In this version of a rotary timing control, the control I1 on the shaft 52 turns clockwise and is provided with cams on both the face and obverse side, and on the periphery, the cams on the face side for automatically opening the cold and hot water valves, and on the obverserside for opening the drain pipe valve, and those on the periphery for releasing the lid 33 and for stopping the motor.

On the obverse side of the rotary timing control, there are .four cams lettered a, b, c, and d in the alphabetical order in which they function; and on the face side there are five cams lettered v, w, 11:, y and a. These cams in the alphabetical order named open the cold and hot water valves.

Valves I8 and 24 have handles s and t thereon respectively, and these are in the path of the cams v, w, y and z.

Cams a, b, c, and d on the obverse side of therotary timing control successively engage the roller e on the rod ,f which leads to the drain pipe valve I4. A peripheral cam h engages the roller 43 on the rod 4|, and releases the catch 3| on the lid 33 and permits it to open, and thelarger peripheral cam 44 follows closely after the cam h, and by engaging the roller 43 and lifting the rod 4| still higher, it raises the switch lever 48 to open the circuit, and stop the motor 9, all of which processes are fully described in the description switch mechanism. This switch lever 48 may be manually controlled from the exterior of the machine and is further positioned for engagement by fingers 46 and 41 on a rod 4|. A catch 32 is provided at the upper end of the rod 4| for engagement with a hook 3| on a cover 33 which is mounted by hinges 34 on the top of the tank 8. The hinges 34 have spring means connected therewith for raising the lid 33 automatically when the catch member 32 is moved to release the hook 3|. The lower end of the rod is provided with an arm 42 and a roller 43 on the inner end of the arm is in position to be engaged by a cam 44 on the edge of the rotary timing. control I1.

of the operation which follows.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view with legends thereon showing what takes place with each operation, namely,.rst, the pre-washing with cold water; second, the washing with hot water; next, the rinsing; then the sterilizing followed by the condensing which takes place in the tank 8 through the agency of the condensing jacket 23 by cooling the wall of the tank 8 due to the inlet of cold water therein; then the release and opening of the lid 33, finally followed by the dry air circulation and the breaking of the circuit through the switch and motor. l

In Fig. 6 is shown a slight modification in which the valves, lid and motor are controlled by peripheral cams.

Operation- To start theoperation of the machine, dishes are placed in racks in tank 8, a detergent powder is deposited in the soap receptacle 2 I, lid 33 is closed, and the motor 9 is started by manual operation yof switch lever 48. From then on, the action of the machine in carrying out my method of cleansing and drying dishes is fully controlled solely by control element I1, in the following manner: The rotation of rotary timing control I1, due to the starting of the motor, accomplishes in sequence the following work. The

self-closing cold water valve 24 is iirst opened by aeeofrer cam v and cold Water entering through pipe passes through the condensing jacket 23 and through the opening 26 into the tank B where it is agitated by the impeller l0 and forced over the dishes or any articles which may be Withinthe tank until such debris as can be rinsed Off the dishes by a cold water rinse has been removed. At the end of a predetermined period of time, the self-closing drain valve I4 is opened by a cam a and the cold water is automatically drained out of the machine. After this drain valve it has had time to close, the self-closing hot water supply valve iii is opened by cam w and hot water admitted through this valve i8 and the pipe i9 to the tank 8, ,said hot Water entering the tank through its outlet into the soap receptacle 2i and carrying with it into the machine tank 8 any soap which may have been previously deposited in said soap receptacle.

Itwill be notedthat the soap,usually in powdered form, may be introduced at the upper end of the soap receptacle 2l, and that said soap receptacle has a shelf 22 at the bottom on which the soap may lodge until it is Washed into the tank by the inflowing hot water. This hot water is likewise sprayed over the dishes and said dishes are washed for a predetermined period of time in the hot soap suds. The drain valve it is then again opened by cam b and the tank drained. After the drain valve closes, the hot water valve i8 is again opened by cam and a hot rinse water is admitted and sprayed over the dishes usually for a period of about one minute. again opened by cam c and this rinse water drained off, after which the drain valve ld closes automatically. In the machine illustrated, I provide for a second hot rinse and again open the hot Water valve i8 by cam y admitting a second rinse of hot Water which may be sprayed over the dishes for a desired period and then emptied by opening the drain valve i4 by cam d. After the draining of this last rinse water, the rotary timing control i'l opens the cold water valve 24 by cam a, and cold water is admitted to the condenser 23 before the drain valve closes so that any overflow of water from the condenser` 23 will pass out of the open drain valve but will not be circulated. The supplying of the condenser 23 with cold water cools the walls of the tank 8 and has the eifect of condensing substantially all of the vapor within the tank i3 remaining after the last hot rinse. This performs the double function of helping to dry the dishes by preventing this vapor fromA condensing on the dishes and of preventing this vapor from settling on the dishes, in which case the dishes would dry streaked, and from being released into the room to settle on windows, etc., when lid is opened.

After allowing time for vapor to condense, the rotary timing control I1 actuates the catch 32 by cam h which permits the spring hinge 3 and/or the counterweight 35 to open the lid, so that fresh air is admitted to the tank. If this is not done, the dishes will have a musty odor when The drain valve is then cooling surfaces thereof and a self opening lid, a cold water pipe with valve thereon and a motor driven timing control member with means for automatically actuating said valve to supply cold water to said flrstmentioned means for cooling surface of said tank and to actuate said self opening lid after vapor in the tank has been condensed on the cooled surfaces thereof, and means for stopping the motor;

2. The combination in an automatic dishwasher having a tank with a motor driven impeller to direct water over dishes, means to remove vapor from tank, water inlet and drain pipes with valves thereon, a self opening lid, and

a single rotary control member having means thereon to actu'ate said valves, said vapor removing means, said lid and said motor in such a manner as-will automatically subject the dishes to a rinsing with hot water, a freeing from vapor, a supply of fresh air by opening of said lid, and a forced circulation of said fresh air by said impeller and finally stopping the motor by disconnecting the current.

3. In combination in a dishwashing machine,

l -of a dish drying means embodying a tank, a motor, an impeller, a condensing element adapted to cool the upper portion of the walls of the tank, whereby vapor in the tank ensuing from the nal hot water rinse therein will be condensed, means including a valve for supplying cold water to said condensing element, a self-acting lid on said tank operable to open the latter after vapor has been condensed and removed, a switch for the motor, and a rotary timing control having on its surfaces means to open the cold water valve to sup- -ply cold water to said condensing element, means to open the lid when vapor is suiciently conn densed to allow the continuous rotary action of the impeller to drive out remaining moisture and circulate fresh air in the absence of water over and around the dishes until they are dry, and means to actuate the switch to stop the motor.

4. The combination of a tank, a condensing jacket discharging into the tank, pipes for supplying the tank with hot water and the jacket with cold water, a drain, valves for the hot and cold water pipes and the drain, a rotary timing control having cams on one side for opening the drain pipe valve, and on the other side for opening the valves in the hot and cold water pipes.

5. The combination of a tank, a condensing jacket discharging into the tank, pipes for supplying the tank with hot water and the jacket with cold water, a drain, valves for the hot and cold water pipes and the drain, a rotary timing control having cams on one side for opening the drain pipe valve, and on the other side for opening the valves in the hot and cold water pipes,

` a lid to the tank, a latch, a rd, a switch for an electric motor, means connected with the rod for successively unlatching the lid and operating the switch, and means on the perphery of the rotary timing control for successively lifting the rod to release the lid and open the switch.

6. A dishwashing machine including in combination the following elements, a tank, a pump impeller therein for creating a circulation Within the tank, a motor for said impeller, means to control the motor, a condensing element, hot and cold Water pipes, a drain, and self-closing valves therefor, a self-opening lid for the tank, operable means for its release, and a control member having means to actuate the several valves in predetermined order to furnish water for a pre-wash, to open the drain valvef'to empty the tank, then the valve in the hot water pipe to furnish hot water to wash the dishes, then the drain pipe valve to empty the tank, then to open the hot water pipe valve to .furnish hot Water for rinsing, then the drain pipe valve to again emptythe tank, then to open the cold water valve to supply cold water to the condenser, and having means to operate said lid releasing means to release the self-opening lid, and having means to operate said motor control means to stop the motor and impeller.

7. A dishwashing machine including in combination the following elements, a tank, a pump impeller therein for creating a circulation Within the tank, a motor for said impeller, means to control the motor, a condensing element, hot and cold water pipes, a drain, and self-closing valves therefor, a self-opening lid for the tank, opera'ble means for its release, and a control member having means to actuate the several valves in predetermined order to furnish water for a pre-Wash, to open the drain valve to empty the tank, then the valve in the hot water pipe to furnish hot Water to Wash the dishes, then the drain pipe valve to empty the tank, then to open the hot water pipe valve to furnish hot water forrinsing, then the drain pipe valve to again empty the tank, then the hot water valve for a second hot water rinse to sterilize the dishes, then to open the drain pipe valve to empty the tank, then to open the cold water valve to supply cold water to the condenser, having means to operate said lid releasing means to release the self-opening lid, and having means to operate said motor control means to stop the motor and impeller.

8. A dishwashing machine including in combination a tank, a self-opening lid therefor, a pump impeller for creating a circulation within the tank, means for driving the impeller, a condensing element, hot and cold water pipes, a drain, and self-closing valves therefor, a control member and actuating means therefor, said control member having means for successively opening the valves, first in the cold water pipe for pre-wash, then the drain valve to empty the tank, then the hot water valve to supply hot wash Water, then the drain valve to again empty tlie tank, then the hot water valve to supply hot water for a rinse, then the drain valve to again empty the tank, then the cold water valve to furnish cold water to the condensing element, then to release the self-opening lid to admit air to permit the impeller to forcefully circulate air in and around the dishes for a predetermined length of time, and nally to stop the impeller and control actuating means.

9. In an automatic dishwashing machine, including a tank with means for washing the dishes and rinsing same with hot Water, means for drying same consisting of means for ridding said tank of steamy vapor after the final rinse and means for admitting fresh air to said tank after vapor has been voided and means for circulating said fresh air over surfaces of dishes, means for then breaking current to stop motor and means for automatically timing and actuating said means in desired sequence.

l0. In an automatic dishwashing machine having a tank, with a condensing element composed of a double wall jacket to be filled with cold water to cool walls of the tank to condense Vvapor in the tank after the final rinse, a cold water inlet valve, a self-opening lid and a motor driven control member with means to open said cold water valve after'nal rinse to supply cold water to the condensing element and means to then release said self-opening lid and means to then disconnect current to the motor to stop automatic action of the machine.

1l. In a mechanical dishwashing machine the combination of a tank and means for washing and rinsing dishes, means for drawing vapor from the surfaces of the dishes by cooling the Walls of said tank and a motor driven means for regulating a supply of cold water to cool said walls at desired time and sequence.

MABEL A. VORIS. 

